CAT SCRATCH FEVER: XF Supercharged is a 'purrrfect' player in Jaguar's fearsome foursome

Don called from L.A. excited about the car he had seen in the CBS parking lot: a 1983 Jaguar XJS. Back in the early ’80s the XJS was sleek and cool at a time when many European automakers were churning out boxes of boredom.

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

“It’s pristine — flawless,” he said.

Among the many things Don and I share in common is a devotion to rare entities that embody near perfection: the blonde woman who tends the fruit kiosk inside Barcelona’s La Boqueria; a bottle of 2001 St.-Emilion Grand Cru; and the incomparable lines of Jags both old and new.

When I told him the vehicle I was driving this week — a 2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged — I could hear the envy in his voice.

“Life is rough,” he said.
Snooty enthusiast
While Jaguar’s XF lineup was never intended to be heir apparent to the XJS grand tourer, which ceased production in 1996, what it does share with its earlier-generation brethren is its lean exterior lines and sporty styling coupled with a luxurious cabin interior that grabs the attention of the most snooty European car enthusiast.

“This interior,” said one passenger and bon vivant, “is gorgeous.”

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

She was referring to the exceptional craftsmanship found throughout the cabin, including the double hand-stitched, dark-brown leather dash and beige leather upholstery, plus burl wood and burnished aluminum accents. All of which combine to create a multi-faceted décor and aesthetic delight.

And then there’s the James Bond-like A/C vents that automatically roll open whenever the engine is started. My favorite 007 flourish? Move your finger over (but don’t actually touch) the discreet, button-sized circle, flush with the console, to open the glove compartment. It’s programmed not to open if a finger or hand directly presses or grazes the button, as might accidentally happen if someone were cleaning the car.

Or trying to steal Pussy Galore’s aviator goggles out of the glove compartment.

How shaken and stirred.

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

For nuance the touchscreen gives the driver three visual display options: (1) real-time navigation, audio controls and other on-board whoZwhatsits; (2) one that shows only the Jaguar logo with a partial Union Jack (in black and white, no less); and, (3) a blank screen (how discreet). Blue-luminescent tach and speedometer gauges on the driver’s-side instrument panel look sexy at night, while the car’s illuminated stop/start button “pulsates like a heartbeat” until pushed.

“If only they had added four more inches of legroom to the backseat, the interior would be perfect,” the bon vivant noted.

Duly noted. Backseat legroom is in fact modest for those older than 6, especially if sitting behind a tall driver and/or front passenger. Truth be told the four-door XF technically is a five-passenger sedan but in name only. There is simply no way three average-sized adults will fit comfortably in the backseat unless the people in front scoot their seats so far forward the crumple zone becomes their knees.

OK, so the XF is not the ideal match for the Swiss Family Robinson. Those beach bums will just have to hitch a ride with the first minivan that rolls past their treehouse.
Smooth operator
How this Jag more than makes up for the lack of backseat legroom is the no-holds-barred blacktop bleeder under the hood: a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that comes standard with the XF Supercharged (the same engine that powers the Range Rover Supercharged). With a 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds, this sultan of street churns out an asphalt blistering 470 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque without breaking a sweat. All of which makes the XF Supercharged, which debuted in 2008, a key player in Jaguar’s “fearsome foursome” XF lineup, which includes the base XF, XF Luxury, XF Supercharged, and the XFR (which I reviewed last February).

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

On the road the XF Supercharged takes no prisoners thanks to the technology behind the superb control, agility, steering and balance drivers will discover in tight turns as well as straightaways. Talk about a smooth operator.

Safety features includes antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, an optional blind-spot warning system, airbags up the wazoo and an optional rearview camera.

By combining a road-quiet luxury cruiser with a high-performance sports sedan, Jaguar succeeds brilliantly in offering drivers the best of many possible worlds. All the while making certain no one ever mistakes this first-generation, supercharged dynamo for the kind of old guard motorcar aging British pensioners drive to afternoon tea.

In fact, if the Jaguar XFR could talk, it most likely would quote James Bond from “You Only Live Twice”: